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Purchasing a cad laptop


gevas

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Hello to all

 

I need help to decide what spec to buy.

Requirements: run solidworks efficiently. up to about 500 parts assemblies. no rendering, no shading, just machine design.

I "narrowed" it down to 4 very different options(its expensive here i know):

 

1. A simple Dell Latitude 3440. i5-4200U, 4GB RAM, integrated graphics 4400: 770$

2. Lenovo Y510P. i7-4700MQ, 8GB RAM, GT750M graphics: 1280$

3. Dell Precision 2800. i5-4200M, 8GB RAM, Firepro W4170M graphics: 1800$

4. Dell Precision 2800. i7-4810MQ, 8GB RAM, Firepro W4170M graphics: 2140$

 

The reason for the wide variety is, im not sure the extra cost is justified given that up until now i was perfectly satisfied with my desktop's GT630 graphics, Q6600 processor and 4GB RAM (but i have worked on assemblies with up to about 200 parts).

I know the formal response is "get a quadro/firepro", but up until now i never needed one, and the cost delta is considerable.

Right now im leaning towards the Y510P.

 

Every input will be much appreciated,

Guy

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How long were you expecting to hold on to this laptop?

 

What version of Solidworks would you be running on it?

SW version is 2012, and i expect the machine to last 2-3 years.

right now my said desktop is struggling with 500 parts, and thats my aim to handle.

Thanks

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#2 is best bang for the buck. Add an additional 8GB of RAM and it's definitely a rock solid performer.

Thank you for your input. Im guessing you ment a solid(works) performer..?

All the information i gather seems to indicate SW will not have a performance issue with a gaming GPU if the CPU and RAM are adequate.

Is this the case to your knowledge?

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SolidWorks uses OpenGL rather than DirectX, therefore you will not have the pretty picture RealView graphics. Other than that, should work fine as long as the assemblies are not large number of components. (except for #1)

I would get at least 17" screen with numerical keypad.

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